MOVIE REVIEW: DESPICABLE ME 4

 

Gru welcomes a new member to the family, Gru Jr., who's intent on tormenting his dad. However, their peaceful existence soon comes crashing down when criminal mastermind Maxime Le Mal escapes from prison and vows revenge against Gru.

Director: Chris Renaud, Patrick Delage

Cast:  Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Sofía Vergara, Renaud, Madison Polan, Dana Gaier, Chloe Fineman, Stephen Colbert 

Release Date: July 3, 2024

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi

Rated PG for action and rude humor.

Runtime: 1h 34m

Review:

Despicable Me 4 is light, colorful and breezy enough to entertain, thanks in large part to Steve Carell and Will Ferrell's voice work, but this entry proves to be far more forgettable.  Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage direct the film at a slightly manic pace by offering an overstuffed roster of characters and storylines which makes the whole story feel scattered.  The animation is still incredibly sleek with its bright, angular look which gives children and adults alike plenty of eye candy throughout.  Story wise the film's a overly busy for no reason which leave each story thread feel uncooked.  The addition of Will Ferrell as Gru's nemesis Maxime Le Mal works incredibly well especially when he and Carrell are throwing barbs back and forth at each out.  Ferrell, using a heavy faux French accent, is clearly having a ball voicing the character and the film would have been smart to make him the primary focus since the film works best when his character is onscreen.  The side story's about Gru's Wife and Poppy the aspiring teen villain next door who blackmails Gru, just aren't all that interesting in spite of Kristen Wiig and Joey King's best efforts.  The much advertised Mega Minion's also prove to be little more than seeding for a future spinoff as opposed to a fully formed storyline.  The standard issue minions are still good for a handful of laughs throughout which keeps the whole thing rolling along at a steady pace.  The Despicable Me franchise was never the deepest around but its always been fun, this fourth entry continues that trend but lacks the focus to be truly memorable.

C+

Cindy Prascik's Review of Despicable Me 3

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas with approximately eight million children for Despicable Me 3.

 

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

 

Having failed to apprehend his arch-nemesis, Gru and his Minions turn back to villainy(ish).

 

Despicable Me is a "family" franchise that usually has plenty of laughs for fans of any age, and the third installment is no different. It boasts fun, funny characters who are easy to love. You'll have seen most of Gru's best bits in DM3 trailers, but there's plenty of cuteness from Margo, Edith, and Agnes to earn the price of a ticket. Judicious use of the Minions makes their appearances both entertaining and welcome; they are, as usual, the movie's highlight. Series newcomer Trey Parker is hilarious as this outing's stuck-in-the-80s super-villain. His musical choices and pop-culture references are clearly filmmakers throwing parents a bone for bringing their darling eight-year-olds to the show, but they are totally rad! Despicable Me 3 features bright, colorful art, constant-motion animation, and lively tunes sure to keep the kidlets engaged. I had a full house for my screening, and it didn't seem anyone in the room was much in agreement with the picture's mostly middling reviews; rather, kids and grownups alike were all laughing and having a great time.

 

Despicable Me 3 runs 90 minutes and is rated PG for "action and rude humor."

 

The Despicable Me franchise may have lost some of its magic along the way, but Despicable Me 3 is still a huge step up from 2015's standalone Minions movie (for whatever that's worth!). Of a possible nine Weasleys, Despicable Me 3 gets five and a half.

 

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik’s review of Despicable Me 2 & R.I.P.D.

Dearest Blog, a hot, humid, rainy day means one thing to me: lots of people sharing my cinema. It's a prospect that doesn't thrill me, to say the least, but off I went anyway for a double-bill of Despicable Me 2 and R.I.P.D.

Spoiler level here will be mild, limited to things you'd know once you'd seen a trailer or two.
Our leadoff batter was the animated sequel Despicable Me 2.

Former super-villain Gru has gone straight, and spends his days being a father to Margo, Agnes, and Edith, and trying to start a business, his own line of jellies and jams. When a new threat emerges, the Anti-Villain League recruits Gru and his super-villain knowledge to help thwart it.

I liked Despicable Me 2 easily as well as its predecessor, in fact, maybe even a little better. The Despicable Me franchise has learnt that its bread is buttered on the Minion side, and the little yellow fellows play an even bigger role this time around, which is to the film's benefit.

The solid voice talent includes Steve Carrell and Russell Brand, reprising their roles from the first film, as well as newcomers Kristin Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Ken Jeong, and the delightful Steve Coogan. The movie looks great, too. I saw it in 2D, and while I could certainly see things that were designed for 3D effectiveness, there's nothing that didn't look right in 2D, and everything is clear and bright. The second half does fall off somewhat from the first, which might have left me with a less-positive impression if the ending weren't so much fun.

Despicable Me 2 clocks in at 98 minutes and is rated PG for "rude humor and mild action." It's a family-friendly good time, well worth your movie dollar.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Despicable Me 2 gets seven and a half.

Next up on my agenda was the comic book movie R.I.P.D.

A cop (Ryan Reynolds) is killed on the job and joins R.I.P.D. ("Rest In Peace Department"), a team of undead good guys who keep undead bad guys from taking over the Earth. He's partnered with an old West lawman (Jeff Bridges) who disdains the idea of any partner, let alone one of the newly-dead.

Now, dear Blog, I try to make a point of being a well-educated consumer. As such, it's not often I get stuck paying for a movie I hate. For sure some are better or worse than I anticipate, but as long as the trailers aren't misleading, seldom am I all that disappointed. R.I.P.D. is the unfortunate exception to the rule; I was bored out of my gourd from beginning to end.

If we're being honest, I don't think most of us expected R.I.P.D. to be anything more than a poor man's Men In Black: good action, some awesome monsters, and hilarious wisecracks. Unfortunately, the action isn't exciting, the monsters look terrible, and the wisecracks are anything but funny. I don't think I laughed even once. The plot didn't engage me for a second, and the whole thing looks so dark (even daylight scenes) that it appears to be under a heavy fog. By luck of the schedule draw, I ended up seeing this in 3D, which is pointless.

The cast is decent, but mostly phones it in. Ryan Reynolds is as likable as any actor working today (ditto his leading lady Stephanie Szostak), but his role is so bland I couldn't say I was actively rooting for him. Academy Award winner Bridges has cornered the market on crusty-but-lovable, kooky old guy roles, but unfortunately this one is just crusty and not at all lovable. By rights he's supposed to provide most of the comedy, but he left me totally flat. Any way you slice it, I was getting stuck with one of my most-despised actors, Mary-Louise Parker, this weekend, as she also stars in the weekend's other big action flick, Red 2. It goes without saying her presence didn't help anything. My beloved Robert Knepper has a cameo that's so bad I'd have been happier not seeing him at all. Other than Szostak, pretty much the only thing the movie has going for it is Kevin Bacon, who is oddly perfect for his role. Oh, and if they got one thing right, it's that Boston is surely a bastion of the undead...I know every time I look at Aerosmith.

R.I.P.D. runs 96 minutes, which seem like 96 hours, and is rated PG13 for "violence, sci-fi/fantasy action, some sensuality, and language including sex references."

Of a possible nine Weasleys, R.I.P.D. gets three.

If I hadn't had to wait for my ride anyway, I probably would have walked out on it.

Until next time...




EEK! The Boston Undead!!